We Took Elia to Elia We were looking for the perfect place to celebrate my niece Elia's birthday when my brother-in-law suggested Elia at 1938 W. Division St. in the heart of Wicker Park. It felt fitting to take Elia to Elia. Elia is an upscale Mediterranean restaurant with a beautiful interior and exterior. I've walked past it countless times and somehow never noticed it. Inside, you'll find high ceilings, warm gold and brown tones, a fully stocked bar, and an open grill that adds to the atmosphere. Since we had a larger group, our family was seated in a semi-private area, which worked out nicely for the celebration. Food-wise, we opted for the all-you-can-eat experience. The meal featured a variety of Mediterranean favorites, including chicken, lamb, steak, fresh pita bread, rice, and other accompaniments brought to the table throughout the evening. The pita was especially good, warm, fresh, and almost pizza-like in its texture. My nephew loved the French fries, and the drinks were excellent as well. I ordered an Old Fashioned, which was well-made and paired nicely with the meal. The food itself was delicious, but the service was somewhat inconsistent. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, but there were long gaps between courses. At times, it felt like we were receiving plenty of bread while waiting quite a while for the main proteins to arrive. The biggest disappointment came when the restaurant ran out of steak. Since it was one of the most popular items included in the all-you-can-eat experience, it was unfortunate to learn it was no longer available. The staff did their best to compensate with additional chicken and lamb, but I was really looking forward to trying more of the steak. Overall, we had a good experience. The atmosphere was beautiful, the food was flavorful, and it made for a wonderful birthday celebration. Had the service been a bit more efficient and the steak remained available throughout the meal, this easily could have been a five-star visit. I would definitely recommend Elia as a date-night spot or for a special occasion. 4 out of 5 stars. read more

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I was excited to try this, but unfortunately will not be back. Pros; We tried one of the appetizer dips that was the red pepper and the bread was good. The plates and China are beautiful! Cons: I ordered the "beef shish". It was literally RAW. 75% of the meat was not edible. I waited 10 minutes to try and get the waitress to tell her, but could not get a hold. She NOT ONCE ascertained our satisfaction after we got the food. Also, never got water refills till we were ready to leave. Also, my husband was wanting to order another drink, but couldn't because the waitress never came around. Finally when we were ready for the check was the first time we saw her, and I told her about my meat and showed her. They did not give us any discount on the dish even though 75% was inedible. The part that I could eat was severely burnt on the ends. That's really disappointing to pay around $27 for a meal and leave hungry. We will not be back. Also, they were completely out of eggplants and lemons that day, and the menu is small and very lamb heavy, so not a ton of options. The decor is beautiful, but need to work on service and food. read more

Elia - Raw meat - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Really love the vibes here. I came for the $25pp Unlimited brunch, stayed for the great service and chill atmosphere. Food was out quickly, and they consistently brought out refills. I'll definitely be returning with more friends read more

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We stopped by after Do Division, this was a wonderful dinner! Fresh fast and flavorful, we had the meat kabobs and Greek salad, which come with a dense delicious circle of bread! Lovely outdoor seating on a nice day, such a great Sunday dinner with a fun neighborhood vibe. The indoors are well decorated and trendy read more

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Celebrated my best friend's 30th the only way we know how... with a full feast at Elia in the private dining room and it was perfection from start to finish We kicked off the night with the dreamiest spreads: creamy hummus, spicy whipped feta, roasted red pepper dip, warm pita straight from the oven -- literally the kind of table that makes everyone go silent for a second bite. Then came the mains... a massive board loaded with grilled chicken, lamb, rice, pickled onions, herbs, and all the flavors that make Mediterranean food feel like a hug. And of course, I ended the night with flaky, buttery baklava because that's the only correct way to finish a celebration The vibes, the food, the wine, the laughs! Everything was 10/10. The private room made it feel so intimate and special, and celebrating my best friend turning 30 surrounded by amazing food was honestly unforgettable. Here's to good friends, great food, and nights that need to be repeated. read more

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We had a party of 7 when we enjoyed an early dinner here recently. My sister ordered several appetizers for the table including the Muhammara, Truffle Cheese Saganaki, Grilled Baby Carrots, Tzatziki, Kefalograviera Pide with Black Truffle, & Hummus. They also served bread for the table. I thought the appetizers were very tasty as did several others in the party. However, I really could not taste much truffle in the Truffle Cheese Saganaki. Since I ended up eating a lot for apps, I ordered the Greek Salad for dinner. It was ok but different than what I am used to for a Greek salad. This one did not have any lettuce. My husband ordered the Salmon which I tasted and thought was wonderful. One couple at the table ordered the Mix Grill Platter for Two. It was a lot of food which they enjoyed. We did run low on water around the table by mid meal. No one came around to check on drinks and they never noticed. I had to flag our waiter down. The ambience was lovely and part of what you are paying for. read more

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This is a good spot for Turkish cuisine with a really unique feel. The interior space is nicely designed and sexy. The use of interesting plates and platters make the presentation stand out. We had the mezze platter, which was tasty and offered a good variety to start the meal. Service was friendly and prompt, and the drinks were a nice addition to the experience. Overall, a pleasant visit and I'd come back to try some of the other dishes. read more

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We decided to check out Elia after seeing an ad on Instagram, and we LOVED IT. The place is so beautiful with a lot of red tones, so elegant spot. The food was fantastic! We tried their all-inclusive menu, and it's not a buffet, it's actually unlimited plates. They started us off with a bunch of different starters, and then we got to pick our main dishes and desserts. My husband and I have tried Mediterranean food in a lot of places, and this place is right up there at the top of our list now. The staff was incredibly welcoming, the food was amazing, and the prices were really reasonable. read more

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We ventured out for brunch at this Turkish place and it surpassed our expectations! The all-you-can-eat brunch was a winner. Every plate was a delight! The cheese, bread, eggs, and cold salads were all amazing. Wish the server had explained each dish, hence the 4 stars, but the flavors spoke for themselves. I also enjoyed the Turkish beer and coffee. Friendly staff, Mediterranean ambiance, and uniquely styled plates added to the experience. Can't wait to try dinner! read more

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We did the all you can eat experience and it was so great! Absolutely loved everything we ordered. The food is really very very good. I would give it 5 stars, but I felt that the service wasn't the best. It seemed like every waiter had a different understanding of the all you can eat menu and each waiter would add what seemed like their own made up restriction on the menu. For instance, one waiter told me we could only order each item once, and then another waiter said no we could order more but we must order only one order of a given dish at a time, even though we were two people. If two people are dining and each paying for all you can eat, they should both be able to order their own meals. Other than the complications around the menu, it was overall still fun and the food was great! read more

Elia - All you can eat - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here at 5 on a Friday, they asked us if we had reservations, we did not and there were three of us. Didn't seem to matter as there was no one inside or outside. We sat in one of the outdoor couches. Prior to arrival I looked in here and saw they had a kids menu. I asked when we arrived and they shared they did not. So as a reminder they do NOT have a kids menu anymore. We got the Pastami Hummus which is more of a jerky style pastrami within a plain hummus. It was quite good. It was served with a thick bread. Then we got the grill meal for 2. It came with three meat skewers charred in a good way. It was steak, lamb, and chicken, then it had 1 pepper, 1 tomato, and pickled the grilled red onion, and a traditional chickpea rice. I felt it should have had more vegetable options or more than 1 tomato and 1 pepper. It was good. Simple but good. They didn't serve it with a sauce so it was a little dry. Definitely recommend getting a sauce if you order this from a different part of the menu. My kid got fries, and a lemonade. They do not have a N.A. drink menu with juices or anything really. It was surprising. The service was slow, I asked the waiter for the check he nodded, left came back and asked if we wanted a box or dessert. My partner then asked for the check and the waiter obliged. It felt weird. read more

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Regarding the weekend brunch: be aware that it's only available for parties of two or more. This info is not available on their website, the descriptions here, or on any menus. I had to leave hungry due to this omission. read more

We stopped in on Thursday night for the $35 all you can eat special. Flavors wowed us! To start, you get 6 mezes. We really enjoyed all of them: the hummus was one of the best I've had; the Muhammara has roasted red pepper, bread crumbs, walnuts; tzatziki; htipiti was delish with roasted spicy red peppers and creamy feta cheese. The grilled chicken and adana were grilled to perfection and seasoned perfectly. And, you must try the truffle cheese saganaki. It's delightful. We sat outside and you can't sit outside and not have a cocktail. I tried the Smoky Saint, it was pretty good with mezcal and passionfruit. Overall, a nice restaurant with delish food. read more

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The food was really good. The restaurant is in a great location and it's beautiful inside and very clean. The service was terrible. So we were sat down right in front of the door and it was really cold. So we asked to be moved and they did move us. After that we were pretty much ignored and it got worse as the night went on. The appetizers and the food came out at the same time. I wasn't exactly sure who our waiter was because we ended up having to flag down someone and all of a sudden that became the person attending us even though she wasn't the person who took our order. It was my wife's birthday so they gave us 2 small pieces of backlava but they took our forks and napkins before the backlava came so it was messy. Then we sat for a while trying to get someone's attention to get the check. It was really unfortunate that their service was terrible because the food was really good read more

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This amazing turkish restaurant located in wicker park is absolutely incredible!!! Went there on a Thursday with some friends I haven't seen for a while, one of them suggested to eat at this place because they have a great all you can eat only on Thursday's, also there is no menu for you during the AYCE, they start bringing everything out to you. All dippings were amazing, they have a cheese with honey truffle that we repeated like 4 times, and also ordered extra pita bread just to keep dipping on those. The meat platter, the chicken is absolutely my favorite, made with chicken thigths and overly juicy, the lamb I was drooling at it too, but the Chicken is the winner and you can't miss on this one. We sat on the patio and our waiter was incredible and keep checking on us if we needed something else or bringing more food, he kept it on point. I will undoubtedly come back again and bring more people when they visit chicago read more

Elia - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Cute atmosphere and the appetizers were honestly the best part of the meal -- really delicious. Unfortunately, the service was extremely slow throughout the night. Our server seemed either very new or just overwhelmed, so I do want to give some grace there because she was still pleasant. The entrées themselves were pretty bland and disappointing compared to how good the appetizers were. Overall, the vibe was nice, but the food and long wait times made the experience just okay. read more

We decided to try the Thursday all you can eat mezze and kebabs and oh my gosh it was amazing! The ambiance and decor in this place was beautiful. Elegant and tasteful and comfortable. Our server was quick to explain the AYCE offer and food started coming out fast. There was so much! The kebabs were especially tasty so don't fill up on all the bread. We enjoyed all the spreads and were pleasantly surprised to see they brought us dessert also. Drinks were well priced and they kept our water glasses full. The value cannot be beat and this would be such a fun place to come as a group. They have AYCE on Thursday and brunch for an even better price. We will be back! read more

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Omg I love this place. The staff was incredibly accommodating and kind. After coming here from a poor dining experience we could not have been more pleased. On top of the amazing service the food was beyond delicious. Me and my friends will most definitely coming back and we can't wait. The best way I could have ever asked to spend my birthday! Thanks Elia! read more

A wonderful birthday experience! With amazing cocktails to delicious food, this place is a must try! Located in the heart of west town this place has great cocktails, appetizers, main dishes and desserts. The staff was sure to make our experience unforgettable! They were attentive and kind. The atmosphere was warm the whole night and a perfect spot to celebrate my birthday. I hope to return soon! read more

Elia - cocktail list - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been twice in a week. My friend invited me for my bday last Thursday. All day all you can eat $35. Love it! Worth every penny. I would recommend you to not eat a lot of the appetizers which are breads and dips because for the second round of food you'll be stuff. I won't make that mistake next it was my only meal for the day and until dinner next day. The chicken and the lamb ufffff Service was great, Ebrar was funny and nice to us! Then I went today (Sunday) for $25 all you can eat brunch to see difference and because I was amazed by my experience on Thursday. The pics you'll see are from brunch but they are almost the same for lunch just with a few more dips. Hummus is probably the best I have had in my life. Everything is delicious, everything... BUT the lack of protein was disappointing I'm a trainer and actually came straight from the gym very excited having in mind the lamb and chicken.. not for brunch! My diet is high in protein and I barely got any for brunch. However, Mustafa our server was great and the music was nice, good environment but I wouldn't go again for brunch. read more

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Interior: wow! Great spot to impress a date. Went there on a Sunday at 1300 & it was empty. Why? Everyone was out on the patio. They have paid attention too details here. Unique stamped (with the restaurant name) plates etc. Service: prompt and attentive. Good: great! Had the Hatpti and the chicken shish. Both were excellent and filling! Would easily return !! read more

Elia - Menu - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Came here with a friend and had the weeknight dinner special. We came in for an early dinner, but the place quickly filled up even for a Thursday. The cocktails were pretty good ( I had something with gin and cucumber I think). There was a lot of food to eat for just two people. The dips, breads, the baked cheesy boat, sweet grilled cheese(better when it's hot) and then followed with the board of grilled meats. The chicken was a hit but generally all pretty good. The service was attentive. Everything went fine. We sat outside on the patio. Would look forward to returning again. read more

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Sat outside on a lovely evening here. The vibe is chill, the inside looked very nice too. Started w some drinks... one mocktail on the menu. I always feel like this is a missed opportunity as non-alcohol drinkers would order from a decent selection. Started with the hummus... it was fine. Came with regular bread which I found not appealing at all. No pita bread? Ok. Had the chicken shish for dinner which was tasty, the rice was tasteless and needed some salt or something for me personally. Others got the steak and salmon options and they were also... fine. I'm not sure I'd come back as there are a lot of restaurants in this area. If I could give 3.5 I would, but 4 would be a stretch. read more

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It's unfortunate I have to leave this review. The food was tasty and the restaurant is beautiful inside. I had a reservation for my birthday dinner. We were seated close to the entrance so there was a cold winter breeze anytime the door opened. Before we placed our order we kindly asked to be moved to another table because it was so cold. They moved us to a back corner behind the bar. At first it was fine but the service declined drastically. The appetizer and entree came out at the same time. The saganaki and my lamb weren't hot. They were warm but not hot which leads me to think they weren't cooked before coming out to our table. The inside of the saganaki wasn't even melted. Basically after we were given our food, we were completely ignored. I had to flag down someone to fill my water glass and then flag again to order another beverage. I then had to get their attention again when we were ready for the check. For the birthday celebration they gave us two complimentary pieces of baklava. But the same waitress who brought us the baklava cleared our tables and took our napkins and utensils before bringing us the baklava. She did not give us new napkins for the baklava. So we had sticky baklava with no napkins to wipe our hands with. I don't understand why they would do that but the whole experience was upsetting especially considering this was for my birthday read more

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First of all, i had never heard of this spot and now im about to be here every other weekend. When i tell you the food was hitttttinnnngggg! Baby, I enjoyed every bite. The music was hit after hit, had me dancing in my seat. The chicken kebab was juicyyyy and so flavorful. Service was alright, but our waiter was nice. Will definitely be back! read more

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Amazing Turkish Food in the city! I celebrated my birthday brunch here with a party of 12 people. One of the restaurants which host large parties and doesn't even ask for credit card on hold to reserve the table prior to booking. This was our second time having a large group dined at Elia. Both visits were absolutely fantastic! My server went extra mile to create the warm, welcoming experience. Her energy was amazing. Special mention to her for being attentive and very friendly. The food is delicious. We got bunch of apps and mains and shared them throughout our table, including hummus, muhammara, tzatziki, atom, htipti, mushroom sautéed, pastrami pide, chicken shish kebab, egea veganista. The menu was perfect, offering a great balance of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. I also got Vera Demure cocktail. It was absolutely refreshing. The herbaceous notes added the perfect flavor! I had a wonderful brunch here and I highly recommend this place! read more

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No no no. Over priced food nothing was good and I got lamb how do you f up lamb! We got some hummus that was worse than store-bought hummus. The staff was super annoyed with us when we asked to sit at the bar then told us that since we weren't sitting at the bar we couldn't get the happy hour deals after they gave us the check. It's a beautiful restaurant just terrible everywhere else read more

We went to Elia for brunch and ordered from their Mezze menu as well as the entrées. From the Mezze menu, we had Hummus, Muhammara, Tzatziki, Atom, Babaganush, Cretan Feta Dip, and Htipiti. From the hot Mezze menu, we tried the Mushroom Sauté. For entrées, we ordered the Truffle Eggplant Kebab and Chicken Shish. The standout dishes for me were the Htipiti, Mushroom Sauté, and Truffle Eggplant Kebab. The quality of the food was excellent. The server was very helpful and friendly, but due to a shortage of service staff, the pace of the service was slower overall. Despite this, the food and ambiance were quite enjoyable. read more

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Came for brunch to meet a friend but got stood up! So I ordered two dishes to go and drank a Maplewood Son of a Juice while I waited. The interior of this space is gorgeous! From the chandeliers to the wallpaper to the seating it's very posh looking but totally inviting and comfortable. Sadly the food was not good when I got home to eat. The salmon kebab was grilled to hell and back with only two pieces that were edible. I did enjoy the babaganush and grilled vegetables it's served with. The Pide with Pastrami had three tiny pieces of thin pastrami which was very disappointing. Lastly the Adana kebab tasted very gamey but the tzatziki served alongside it was creamy and garlicky. read more

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Elia restaurant came up on my social media and I was excited to try it. The reviews concerned me but I thought maybe some of the poor reviews were because people were new to this type of cuisine. We ordered the chefs meza platter for appetizer. It was served with fresh baked bread.Unfortunately out of the 6 different appetizers only the hummus was okay. We also order the shrimp appetizer and again nothing special. So far the bread was the star of the show.By now our party of 4 was questioning whether we were going to like the entrees that we ordered. 3 people ordered the beef shish kebab dinner and I got the eggplant and minced lamb kebab. Sure enough our entrees were also disappointing to the point where not one of our party wanted to eat what we had ordered.The beef shish kebabs were tough and sinewy obviously not a quality cut of beef and the minced lamb kebabs were cooked unevenly and quite salty. We hardly touched our entrees and talked about ordering something when we got home. Needless to say we won't be returning. read more

Went for the $35 Tuesday special with a friend last night and was amazed at the spread of food they offered! There's a $25 wine add on but we opted out of that. We did add on the octopus ceviche which was decent. We were stuffed, but bc its ayce they said we couldn't box anything to go. The overall vibe was nice and very pretty inside. Would definitely come again. read more

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Great Management food and atmosphere. We will be coming back soon. My company especially appreciated the attention to our requests.

Food and service was amazing. Our server was so nice and attentive (I wrote down her name and accidentally deleted it, but I believe it started with an "I" and ended with an "A" !! The "all you can eat" and 7$ sangria was a great deal! They also allow you take home leftovers which was more than enough for another 2 meals. I never write reviews, but had to for this place! read more

Elia - All you can eat - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Weekend brunch is amazing! Such a variety of dips with lots of fresh flavors. Service was amazing, offering different types of wine to try at the end of our meal. All you can eat for $25 pp, totally worth it! We will be back! read more

I went here for a lunch date and I'm so glad I did. The food was so delicious, fresh, and flavorful. We tried a little bit of everything from their menu and left very full and satisfied. They recently added some new drinks to their menu and they're pretty good too! The service/servers were quick, informative, welcoming, and very friendly. I can't wait to stop in for dinner or a nice patio lunch, it was chilly out when we went. Oh, and the ambiance was so classy and elegant. read more

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Overall solid restaurant. Food is very flavorful and the presentation is great. Service is pretty average, friendly but a little slow. Ambiance is nice, feels almost a little empty in the inside, but overall sophisticated. read more

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Here's the appetizer: Kefalograviera Pide with black truffle. It's like some really tasty cheese stuffed bread with black truffles. It was awesome! Nice light bread with this wonderful cheese and the truffles. I really could eat it all day. For our mains, I got chicken shish, Donna got steak shish. Mine was very nice, tender thighs- smokey and spiced just right. Donna's beef was moist, tender chunks of beef with a very good spice. Both came with a tasty rice with corn, tzatziki sauce under the meat ( very subdued, not in your face like a gyro shop), pickled onions and green pepper/ tomato from the skewer. Bonus! Due to a wine snafu, we got some free baklava. Yeah, they know how to make baklava. We walked away very happy! Our server was Natalie, she was wonderful! Friendly, helpful and attentive. read more

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My husband and I visited Elia on Thursday, 11/13. What a wonderful experience! Our waiter was Mustafa Y - very kind and answered questions we had about the menu. We each did the $35 chef's testing (all you can eat). Everything was beyond delicious! The Htipiti, Pide (cheese with peppers), and the Chicken Kebabs were our favorites. We both commented multiple times that this was the best meal we had in a long time. Will be back and with a bigger appetite to try more dishes. I wish I had taken pics of the food, but dug right in and forgot all about pics. Highly recommend! read more

Fun and beautiful place. The hostess was wonderful and great energy. Our servers, not so much. This is a first for me to review the food and nominate the table bread as the best dish! It was delicious. Sea bass was very delicious too. We started with a red pepper spread that had wonderful flavors. The rest was just so/so. The $65 meat sampler seemed like a fair price but the three meats were just a fair taste. And the lahmacun was lifeless. Flimsy and not great quality for a simple flatbread that is so simple to make. I get woodfired lahmacun in a tiny shop in LA for $2.25 and it is 10X better than Elia. So, overall, I would suggest the place as it is fun, beautiful and some great dishes. But some dishes need a bit of work. read more

Elia - Bread. Truffle Cheese Saganaki Lahmacun - Turkish Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came here with some friends after seeing their menu and I loved everything here. I honestly would come back here just for any meals. I loved the 6 spreads that came as appetizers which consisted of 3 cold/3 hot, cheese bread, the actual meat platter in which I loved everything and couldn't complain at all, then lastly the dessert! My friend loves their baklava, but it was too sweet for me so she ate my share of it. All the meats were super tender and cooked perfectly to our liking at least. The service was super quick and the people were nice to let us sit around for basically 3hrs without really asking us to leave even though the manager/owner kept coming over to check up on us every 20mins HAHA! I loved the outside seating area they had because we came right at the end of summer so the breeze was super nice as the sun was setting. Overall, super solid places for a super reasonable price. I cannot wait to be back! read more

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